The
Home Office has deferred plans to cut the pay of more than 2,000 interpreters
from 1 January following threats that they would boycott government work,
potentially throwing the immigration system into chaos.

When
they were first informed of the proposed pay cut last month, the interpreters
said they would refuse to accept assignments. Such a move could cause the
system for processing asylum claims across the country to grind to a halt. The
interpreters work across the Home Office including for UK Visas &
Immigration, Border Force, Immigration Enforcement and HM Passport Office. They
launched a fair payment campaign in protest against the planned pay cuts.

The
Home Office has confirmed that any plans to cut pay will be deferred at least
until February while negotiations with the interpreters take place. Prior to
the Guardian reporting on the planned pay cut last week,
it had said that there was no requirement to consult with interpreters who are
contracted to work for them on a freelance basis.

Interpreters
receive £16 an hour on weekdays and slightly more at weekends. The first hour’s
work is paid at an enhanced rate to recognise the time and cost of travelling
to and from appointments.

Up
to three hours’ travel each way for an appointment attracts no extra payment
from the Home Office. Under the proposals, the new first-hour rate for weekdays
would be cut from £48 to £32, while the rate at weekends would come down from
£72 to £46. The interpreters say they have not had a pay rise since at least
2002 so in real terms have had a pay cut every year. But this is the first time
the Home Office has actually proposed lowering their wages.

Home
Office interpreters are highly trained and have to go through counter-terrorism
security clearance so it would not be easy for the Home Office to find
replacements at short notice. The interpreters planned to boycott all
interpreting assignments offered on 1 January 2016 and to roll out a series of
one-day boycotts after that. These plans are on hold while discussions
continue.

A
meeting lasting more than two hours took place between interpreters and the
Home Office on 21 December. At the meeting, officials warned the interpreters
against speaking to the media.

A
further meeting between the Home Office and interpreters is planned for
mid-January. Interpreters said the talks gave them an opportunity to
demonstrate ”our collective strength and unity”.

But
one interpreter who did not want to be named expressed concern that the Home
Office was just waiting for the situation to quieten down and would then go
ahead with the planned cuts.

In
a statement issued by interpreters when they launched the fair payment
campaign, they said: “Many interpreters and their supporters have already
written to the Home Office central interpreters’ unit expressing their dismay
and opposition to these cuts in rates, which were already much eroded through
inflation, and mean that it will no longer be feasible for them to continue
working in this field.

“This
will result in a diminishing pool of qualified, experienced and vetted
interpreters for the Home Office, detrimental both to them but especially so to
the great number of vulnerable people who depend on reliable interpreting
services to put their cases across since they are unable to do so themselves.
Their lives may be at stake. The right to a fair hearing is enshrined in
international human rights law.”

A
Home Office spokesperson said: “We keep our costs under constant review to
ensure the contractors we employ offer the best value for money for the
taxpayer.

“Following
our meeting with the interpreters on 21 December, we intend to defer
implementation of this change at least until 1 February 2016 to allow us time
to give proper considerations to the views and opinions expressed.”

The system for processing immigration claims across
the country is set to grind to a halt in the new year if a threatened mass
boycott of Home Office interpreters goes ahead.

The looming action in protest at pay cuts is the
first time the estimated 2,000 interpreters have threatened to stop work. The
organisers of a fair payment campaign – who are running it anonymously for fear
of reprisals by the Home Office – say that so far they have received solid
support from several hundred interpreters. A meeting has been scheduled with
Home Office bosses at 11am on Monday to discuss their concerns.

The problems began when interpreters received an
email on 20 November from the Home Office central interpreters unit in
Liverpool informing them that a pay cut will be introduced from 1 January.
Interpreters receive £16 an hour on weekdays and slightly more at the weekend.
But the first hour’s work is paid at an enhanced rate to recognise the time and
cost of travelling to appointments. That first-hour rate is being cut from £48
to £32 on weekdays and from £72 to £46 at weekends.

Interpreters are expected to travel up to three
hours each way without extra payments from the Home Office. They attend
meetings between asylum seekers and others interacting with immigration
officials and translate interview questions and answers face to face.

The interpreters say they have not had a pay rise
since at least 2002, so in real terms have already taken a sizeable cut. But
this is the first time the Home Office has proposed lowering their wages.

Home Office interpreters are highly trained and
have to go through counter-terrorism security clearance, meaning it will not be
easy to substitute other interpreters at short notice if the boycott takes
effect. The plan is to start the boycott on 1 January and to follow it with a
series of walkouts after that.

“There is no strike planned because, as
freelancers, we cannot legally do so. We may, however, choose not to accept
assignments and that is what the boycott will consist of,” said one of the
interpreters organising the action and the Facebook page.

“At the moment, the Home Office needs interpreters
more than we need them. They do not have any other system currently in place to
substitute our services other than for telephone interpreting, which they can outsource
to thebigword [an online firm]. They know that if we boycott even for a day,
that will cause major disruptions to their business.”

The interpreters have written to the Home Office to
express their dismay at the pay cut. “This decision came out of the blue; there
had been no consultation nor any forewarning of a reduction in our fees,” the
letter says. “The fees paid to us have remained unchanged since at least 2002,
when the current rates came into effect, whilst being eroded by 3.5% annually
due to inflation.

“In view of this, any further reductions are
totally unacceptable. Instead … the Home Office should do the right thing and
seriously consider increasing the rates of payment to account for the effects
of inflation, just as the Home Office has done with their staff’s salaries for
the last 12 years, other than three of them.”

Another interpreter who also did not want to be
named, said: “The Home Office cannot function without us. They will not be able
to process any immigration claims if we go ahead with our boycott.”

She added that the interpreters are very loyal to
the Home Office but are often not treated well. In some centres they are not
even allowed to use the same toilets as Home Office staff.

“Sometimes we are looked down on. This pay
reduction is a huge insult and the time has come to protest,” she added.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We keep our costs
under constant review to ensure the contractors we use offer the best value for
money for the taxpayer. As part of this, we have considered the rates at which
interpreters are paid and have made some changes, which are effective from 1
January.

“This information was shared with contractors
several weeks ago. We are aware some interpreters have raised concerns about
this and we have met with them to discuss why the changes are necessary.”